Cheltenham November Meeting Key Races, Stats & History

The November Meeting at Cheltenham is one of the most popular events in the racing calendar. But, since the meeting inauguration in 2000, the event has been referred to as the Cheltenham Open, only changing its name to the November Meeting in time for the start of 2017 event.

The change that’s been made has been for a pretty simple reason in that it clashed with The Open that’ hosted within golf each year. It was reported that the head guys at Cheltenham and representatives with the R and A (Royal and Ancient), golf’s governing body, agreed that a name change would be better for all parties involved and so, the November Meeting was born.

About the November Meeting (aka The Cheltenham Open)

The November meeting takes place at Cheltenham racecourse and is run over three days, from Friday to Sunday. Each of the days have a slightly different feel to them. On the opening Friday, Countryside day, huge amounts of money are raised for the Countryside Alliance and the Injured Jockey Fund. The Saturday is Paddy Power Gold Cup Day and is one of the finest days racing of the year. The Sunday is often thought of as the family day, with plenty of entertainment outside of the racing on offer.

The meeting differs from the March Festival, which is much more focussed around the racing, whereas this has some great racing, but also is an attempt to entice families and younger generations into the jumps racing world.

The meeting isn’t all that old in the grand scheme of horse racing, especially when you consider its higher profile brother, the Cheltenham Festival. But, the November Meeting does hold a huge amount of significance, given that it’s often regarded as the first major event of the jump season.

For those of you who are new to horse racing or even those who are familiar with the sport, you may be thinking that jump racing takes place pretty much all year round, and you’d be right. But, the November meet coincides with the end of the summer flat season so this is where the proper jump season really kicks-off.

The fixture is pretty much sold out for the three days. Even though the Friday still has a strong line up of racing, it’s the Saturday and the Sunday that are the two most popular days, with over 60,000 spectators coming through the doors on each.

Day 1 (Friday) Racecard in 2023

The Friday is the opening day of the meeting and with it is a rather relaxed feel to it. Whilst the racing is important, the day is set out to raise much needed funds for a several charities that are involved with the sport, including the Countryside Alliance and the Injured Jockey’s Fund.

There are six races that are run throughout the days racing kicking off with a handicap hurdle for conditional jockeys. The standout contest for the day are the two Grade 2 races on offers.

The first is the Arkle Trial over two miles, which is the third race on the card.  The second is the TrustATrader Novices’ Hurdle, also known as the Hyde Novices Hurdle, which is the fifth race of day. This often brings out some of the top novice hurdlers in the sport and is raced at a furious pace over a demanding two miles and five furlongs. Some of the previous winners have included Coneygree, Fingal Bay and Shantou Village.

The other races are the Paddy Power Handicap Chase, the Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase and the Valda Novices’ Handicap.

Away from the track is usually a number of attractions, including live music within the Guinness Village and The Centaur. On top of that, you are able to soak up the Shopping Village which encourages local business to pitch up and allows punters to dive in to some of the best local produce.

Day 2 (Saturday) Racecard in 2023

The second day of the Meeting on Saturday is the day of the Paddy Gold Cup. It normally offers up seven races throughout, one more than both the Friday and the Sunday and often demands a premium in terms of tickets as a result.

The highlight of the day comes in the form of the Paddy Power Gold Cup, previously known as the BetVictor Gold Cup. The race isn’t directly seen as a warm up to the Gold Cup that is run in March at The Festival, but it does offer a great opportunity for younger horses to make the step up in class needed to compete at the highest level. Some of the more notable names to have won the race recently include Our Vic, Imperial Commander, Exotic Dancer and Johns Spirit.

Other races that are held on the Saturday are the, JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial, Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase, the Novices’ Chase, Handicap Hurdle, Intermediate Handicap hurdle and the Mares’ National Hunt Flat Race.

Saturday’s entertainment comes in the form of more live music in The Centaur and in some of the course’s other enclosures. On top of that the Shopping Village would usually be open with a number of local and national stores.

Day 3 (Sunday) Racecard in 2023

Sunday is widely regarded as family day at the meeting and its one that is very popular for that exact reason. But, the racing is some of the best of the whole meeting and even though usually just six races are on, we think they are the strongest of the weekend across the board.

It’s tough to really pick one race that’s the standout for Sunday, but the top three are undoubtedly the Jewson Handicap Chase, the Shloer Chase and the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle. If we had to pick, we would say the Shloer Chase was the strongest, simply because previous winners have included the likes of Well Chief, Sprinter Sacre and Put The Kettle On, to name just a few. The other three races that day are the Maiden Hurdle, Handicap Chase and the Open National Hunt flat Race.

The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Trial which previously ran on this day has since moved to Cheltenham’s October meeting.

The Sunday is normally the busiest day outside of the track, with a huge number of events and things to do. The family fun zone is usually set up for the day which includes things such as balloons, face painting, balloon artists, pony plaiting, horse hoppers, colouring in and so much more. Celebrities such as Greg James and Chris Smith from Radio 1 have also been on hand in the past and there’s often live music across the venue.

The Course at Cheltenham

Cheltenham is one of the finest racecourses in the UK. It’s probably best known for hosting the Cheltenham Festival, along with iconic races such as the Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and Queen Mother Champion Chase, amongst others.

Racing has occurred at Cheltenham since 1815, but the first reports were that of races at Nottingham Hill and on Cleeve Hill in 1818, both areas in and around Cheltenham. As the popularity of horse racing continued to rise, so did the number of people watching the sport. It was reported that crowds in excess of 30,000 would turn up, much to the dismay of the Parish, bringing huge disruption to the area. In fact, it got so bad that the grandstand from the original site was burnt down in 1830.

A new home was needed and the course was eventually moved to Prestbury Park in 1831, where it still resides today. As the course continued to develop, so did the amount of spectators it was able to attract. Today, this number sits at over 67,000, making it one of the largest in the UK.

The racecourse is actually owned by the Jockey club, who took over ownership in 1964 to secure to future of the course. In that time they were able to own or part-own a number of other tracks throughout the UK, with the money generated getting redirected back into the sport.

Over the last 50 years the course and the facilities have seen quite a change in terms of development. Expansions throughout the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s saw main grandstands extended several times and also hospitality added for more corporate offerings and even royal guests, should they have them.

In 1990 a new stable complex was open, the parade ring extended and improved. There was also the introduction of the cross-country course as well, now offering up three different courses to choose from. The late 90’s saw the complete removal of the original Tattersalls Grandstand, with a new, panoramic offering replacing it instead.

Investment into meeting facilities, accommodation and even The Centaur, allows the racecourse to hold meetings such as the November Meeting, offering up more of a festival feel to it. The turn of the Millennium saw another £20 million spent and in 2015 they unveiled their all-new Princess Royal Stand, coming in at the costly sum of £45 million.

Results

The latest edition of Cheltenham’s November Meeting in 2023 got underway on Friday 17th November and ran for the traditional three days, concluding on Sunday 19th November. The results for each of the 19 races are shown below.

Friday 17th November 2023 Results (Day 1)

The going was good to soft for the opening day of the meeting in 2023. The six-race card opened with the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle and closed with a Handicap Hurdle for Novices.

The Arkle Novices’ Chase trial was moved to the opening day of this meeting, running as the third race of the day. Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero’s Homme Public fired himself into Arkle consideration with a two length victory.

The Grade 2 Novices’ Hurdle, now sponsored by Trustatrader, generally throws up a pretty smart performer, with the best recent example being 2012 winner, Coneygree, who later went on to grab Cheltenham Gold Cup glory. Minella Missile sprung a shock in this edition when winning at 22/1 for trainer Evan Williams.

Lycetts Insurance Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle: 13:10 (20 Ran)

Paddy Power Handicap Chase: 13:45 (11 Ran)

SSS Arkle Challenge Trophy Trial Novices’ Chase: 14:20 (4 Ran)

Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase: 14:55 (13 Ran)

Trustatrader Novices’ Hurdle: 15:30 (8 Ran)

Valda Energy Novices’ Handicap Hurdle: 16:05 (17 Ran)

Saturday 18th November 2023 Results (Day 2)

The youngsters opened proceedings on day 2 in the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle. Connections here have high hopes for their three-year-olds lining up, so this is a race where the market has often proven to be a useful guide. This year the race went to the 9/4 second favourite, Burdett Road for Newmarket trainer James Owen.

The big betting race of the week, the Paddy Power Gold Cup, formed the centrepiece of the Saturday card. With £160,000 up for grabs this was to be as fiendishly competitive as ever, with the majority of the big yards represented. Victory went to Paul Nicholls for a third time with 4/1 favourite Stage Star.

JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle: 12:35 (11 Ran)

Wienerberger Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase: 13:10 (16 Ran)

From The Horse’s Mouth Podcast Novices’ Chase: 13:45 (6 Ran)

Paddy Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase: 14:20 (14 Ran)

Paddy Power Games Handicap Hurdle: 14:55 (15 Ran)

Paddy Power Intermediate Handicap Hurdle: 15:30 (9 Ran)

Mares’ Open National Hunt Flat Race: 16:05 (15 Ran)

Sunday 19th November 2023 Results (Day 3)

There aren’t too many racing festivals over the course of the year which run on into the Sunday, but this one does, and it regularly serves up one of the best Sundays of racing action of the entire jumps season.

The classiest chase of the meeting came in race four as the Grade 2 performers tackled the 2m trip of the Shloer Chase. There are plenty of famous names on the list of previous winners here, including Sir Anthony McCoy’s final Cheltenham Festival winner, Uxizandre and the majestic, magnificent, Sprinter Sacre. This year’s renewal was won by Nicky Henderson’s Arkle runner-up Jonbon who will be aimed at the Champion Chase in March.

The day’s feature handicap was the Unibet Greatwood Hurdle. Nicky Henderson was again in the winner’s enclosure, saddling Iberico Lord to victory. Surprisingly, this was Henderson’s first winner in this race.

Last of the meeting’s races was a bumper for runners aged between four and five years of age which this year was sponsored by Turners. Even this event has pointed the way to big things in the future, with the talented Definitly Red and Champion Hurdler, Rock On Ruby amongst the previous winners. Young trainer Ben Brookhouse secured his first ever win at Cheltenham in this race in 2023 with Brechin Castle.

mallardjewellers.com Maiden Hurdle: 13:10 (7 Ran)

cavani.co.uk Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase: 13:45 (7 Ran)

Jewson Handicap Chase: 14:20 (13 Ran)

Shloer Chase: 14:55 (4 Ran)

Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle: 15:30 (15 Ran)

Turners Open National Hunt Flat Race: 16:00 (12 Ran)

History

The November Meeting has been running since 2000, but it’s only been known in the current form for the 2017 onwards, previously being called the Cheltenham Open. As mentioned earlier in the article, the name was changed due to confusion between this and The Open golf tournament, as agreed by both the organisers and the R and A.

The Gold Cup has actually been running since 1960, but was added to the November Meeting upon it’s inauguration in 2000. The Premier Handicap (Grade 3) National Hunt Chase has often been a great stepping stone to the more prestigious Gold Cup that’s run at the Cheltenham Festival.

The race has the highest purse of the November Meeting with £160,000 in 2023 and is open to horses aged four and older. It’s run over the Old Course at Prestbury Park and with 2m 4½f in total distance covered and 15 fences for the horses to navigate.

The race has had numerous names over the last 50+ years, mainly through its sponsors. The original sponsor was Mackeson and they had pride of place right up until 1995. Since then it’s been backed by Murphy’s, Thomas Pink, Paddy Power, BetVictor and now it’s current sponsors who are once again Paddy Power.

There are two standout names associated with the race, they are Tony McCoy and Martin Pipe. The former is the most successful jockey with four wins to his name, coming on Cyfor Malta in 1998, Lady Cricket in 2000, Shooting Light in 2001 and Exotic Dancer in 2006. Martin Pipe has trained eight winners in total, more than any other trainer, ranging from his first win with Beau Ranger in 1987, right up to 2005 with the legendary, Our Vic.

Triumph Hurdle Trial

The Triumph Trial Hurdle is another of the standout races at the meeting and again seen as a stepping stone for the more prestigious Triumph Hurdle held at The Festival in March. The race has been running since 1987 and there have been some big links between winner of this race and the Triumph Hurdle ‘proper’.

The race is held on the Old Course at Cheltenham and is 2 miles 1/2 furlong in length. There are eight hurdles in total that the horses need to navigate over and is targeted towards three-year-old horses.

The link between was highlighted in 2016 winner Defi Du Seuil went on to win the 2017 Triumph Hurdle some 6 months later. The legendary Katchit was another to complete the same feat, winning the Trial in 2006 before going on to win the big one in 2007.

November Novices Chase (Arkle Trophy Trail)

The November Novices’ Chase is another that is hotly contested and has been able to produce some famous names within racing. The two mile race was upgraded to Grade 2 status in 1994 and has been running since 1987. Its entrants are four years old and up and this is seen as an important race in the calendar.

Its significance is outlined by the calibre of past winners, with the most notable being Best Mate. The horse won the event in 2000 before then going on to win the Gold Cup three times in 2002, 2003, and 2004, taking his career earnings past the £1 million mark. On top of that he also secured victory in the King George VI Chase, Leopardstown Christmas Chase and the Peterborough Chase.

Sharp Novices Hurdle (Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Trial)

For many years the Sharp Novices’ Hurdle was run on the Sunday of the November Meeting but a shake up in the calendar saw it move to Cheltenham’s opening meeting of the season in October. Over the years it has been able to provide a great hunting ground for novice hurdlers, aged four and above. The 2 mile 110 yard race is still run on the Old Course at Cheltenham and has seen a number of different sponsors, such as Opus energy and more recently, Sky Bet.

This is another race that has allowed some of the best horses to flourish, with probably the most notable winner in recent times being Cue Card in 2010. Cue Card was able to earn over £1.4 million in career earnings, with success coming from the Ascot Chase, Ryanair Chase, King George VI Chase and Aintree Bowl, to name just a few. What was amazing to see from Cue Card was how long his career lasted, from his first major win in 2010 at the Champion Bumper to his last coming in the Ascot Chase in 2017.

Altior is another notable name from this race, winning in 2015 before moving on to win the following Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2016. He followed this with further Cheltenham Festival wins in the Arkle in 2017 and the Queen Mother Champion Chase in both 2018 and 2019. In winning the 2019 Celebration Chase at Sandown, Altior made it a record 18 victories in a row, equalling the wins set by Paul Nicholl’s Big Buck’s.